LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Roberto Benigni's "Life Is Beautiful"
continued to conquer U.S. audiences as few internationally-made films have done before, with plans to expand showings to 1,000
screens over the weekend, and to dub the Italian-language
film into English.

Benigni, easily the most ecstatic winner at Sunday's Academy
Awards, will voice his own character when the film is dubbed
into English. His wife and co-star, Nicoletta Braschi, will
voice her own character as well, said a spokesperson for the
distributor, Miramax Films.

"Life" won three Oscars for best actor (Benigni), best
foreign film, and best dramatic score. The film's unique plot
follows an Italian Jew through his marriage to his family's
internment in a Nazi death camp, where he shields his young
son from reality by creating an elaborate game.

Miramax has not yet announced the release date for the
English-language version.

As it moves onto 1,000 screens across the U.S. this weekend
from 650, "Life" becomes the first foreign-language movie to
hit that mark, easily passing the previous record holder, "Il
Postino," which played on roughly 400 screens.

LONDON (CNN) -- "I was at home and didn't have a date," said
actor Sir Ian McKellen when asked about his choice of Monica
Lewinsky as his companion Thursday evening for the British
premier of "Gods and Monsters."

Ever the gentleman, 59-year-old McKellen said, "She was coming to London and I thought, 'We want to give her a good welcome.'" The two reportedly met at an Oscars party in Los Angeles. McKellen has garnered international attention and an Oscar nomination for his performance in "Gods and Monsters."

Lewinsky was in London to promote a book about her affair
with President Bill Clinton. That liaison between the former
White House intern and the U.S. president led to his
impeachment in Congress.

BUFFALO, New York (CNN) -- Next December, TV viewers may be
treated to the story of Buffalo Bills quarterback Doug
Flutie's life, including his professional comeback and his
inspiring work to help children with autism.

Flutie's agent, Jack Mula, said this week that an agreement had been signed with a film production company, which in turn had
guarantees from a TV network to air the program over the
holiday season.

Football fans still remember Flutie's last-ditch touchdown
pass in 1984 to give Boston College a 47-45 upset victory
over the University of Miami. Flutie won the Heisman Trophy
that year.

Flutie came back to the NFL last year after eight seasons in
the Canadian Football League.

Mula said some profits from the TV movie would go to the
"Doug Flutie Jr. Autism Foundation," which is named after the
quarterback's 7-year-old son.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- With a hit single that asks, "Do you believe
in life after love?", it's only fitting that Rolling Stone magazine pries into singer/actress Cher's love life in the most recent issue. What readers will find is a lack of romantic
love just now for the 50-something Cher.

"I've never been alone this long," Cher told Rolling
Stone. She describes some advantages to being
single, but admits she misses other experiences of a loving
relationship.

"There's not someone who tells you how
adorable you are and rubs your head and goes into a crowded
press conference and stands at the back and winks at you so
that you think, 'I can get through this.'"

Cher's versatile career has included the '70s variety show "Sonny and
Cher" show and an Academy Award for 1987's "Moonstruck." She will return to the movies this spring, co-starring in Franco Ziffirelli's "Tea With Mussolini" with Judi Dench, Joan Plowright and Maggie Smith.

On her up and down celebrity, Cher told Rolling Stone, "Some
years I'm the coolest thing that ever happened, and then the
next year everyone's so over me, and I'm just so past my sell
date."